Kara Lukas, a contemporary Stockholm girl without friends, spends her time alone or with her beloved grandfather, who is enthusiastic about astronomy.Kara lives with her caring, hardworking single mom; her father left when she was a baby. One day, observant Kara notices a strange snow angel, one without any footsteps around it. Later, she finds a coin in the snow, stamped with a swastika and the date 1942. Then, a third odd thing happens: She meets the coin's owner, a resourceful Jewish girl named Rebecca who's trying to escape the Nazis with her younger brother, Samuel, who has a disability and cannot walk. For the siblings, it's 1944, and they have managed to survive on an island in the middle of a frozen lake that Kara can only see when Rebecca's hand touches her bare skin. The three children begin a relationship that crosses the decades dividing their existences. Kara has an empathetic desire to help her two new friends, and she has the help of Lars, a bully who eventually becomes a friend. The book provides limited information about the Holocaust, and some readers may not fully understand the overall situation. Kara's abilities to enter the past, interact with the siblings, and even bring Lars with her are hazily explained, but her compassion and mature understanding are admirable, and readers will want to engage with her.A time-travel story filled with friendship and compassion. (Fiction. 9-12)

Gr 4–7— This magical book grabs readers from the start as a young girl learns the fantastical possibilities of faith, love, and relationships. The novel opens with Kara, who spends much of her time alone, witnessing unusual occurrences during the long, cold winter in Stockholm. Strange things start happening, like footprints in the snow with no owner. While investigating these oddities, Kara discovers Rebecca and her brother Sam, two lost children who just might be World War II refugees, lost in time—or are they? Kara has to confront Lars, whose actions toward her new friends lead her to step up and be brave. Fox crafts a spectacular novel that explores family and friendship—and their importance throughout history and across time: "Time is &30; a frozen river on which we walk. But the layer of ice that separates us from the past is paper thin." Water as metaphor threads the multiple genres together into a cohesive result. Short sentences, paragraphs, and chapters enhance the depth and pace of this engaging story. VERDICT A great read for those intrigued by a unique, genre-mixing exploration of the era and friendship.— Jennifer Seebauer,